BS Fire Emblem: Archanean War Chronicles
BS Fire Emblem: Archanean War Chronicles is a game within the ''Fire Emblem'' series released in 1997 by Nintendo, Intelligent Systems, and St.GIGA. It was released through the Super Famicom's Satellaview service, and unlike many games released through it, Archanean War Chronicles was not a remake of a previous Fire Emblem game, but an original one (though the game took place in the same universe as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and the engine the game used was based on Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem). The game was separated by four episodes which could be played during certain times of the week. Each episode featured one map, with a total of four maps. A small amount, though an appropriate size for a Satellaview game. The episodes were each titled differently, including Fall of the Palace, The Red Dragoon, Thieves of Justice, and The Beginning. Each episode contained plot elements that were pivotal to the Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Most of the characters from this game appeared in that one. Plot The plot is not as in-depth as most of the Fire Emblem games. Basically the game was not meant for those looking for a story, but rather for veteran Fire Emblem fans who were seeking a formidable challenge that may or may not have been offered in previous games depending on their preferences. Nevertheless, a story is there, and it progresses through each episode. Once an episode was completed, the player would have to wait a whole week to see how the plot would continue. A synopsis of the plot can be seen below, separated by episode. *Fall of the Palace: The Dolhr troops have surrounded Archanea's palace. You have to escort everyone out of the palace while battling enemies. Control Princess Nyna and escape. *The Red Dragoon: Control Princess Minerva and Prince Hardin to make sure the Macedon deserters don't destroy Aurelis. *Thieves of Justice: After Archaenea is destroyed, thieves enter the deserted palace in hopes of claiming the kingdom's treasure. Steal the treasure before the enemy thieves do, and don't get caught by the soldiers. *The Beginning: Takes place two years after Archanea fell. Control General Camus and protect Nyna from King Medeus. Gameplay Archanean War Chronicles is similar to the previous games in the series, though has a unique story. Interestingly, the game had voice acting, though this was not an uncommon sight for a Satellaview video game. There are unfortunately no battle animations, though the sprites on the map do have their own animations that show their actions. The main goal is to earn as many points as possible, which is completed by performing various actions. Because there is only one map per episode, each map is hard to complete to increase the longevity of the game. There are not as many units on a map as there usually is in the series, which also made it harder than usual (for example, in the first episode alone there were only six characters, and while this is common for the beginning of a Fire Emblem game, it's not common for the challenge to be so high). Examples of the challenge of each level include: *Level 1 - Your team only consists of six units against a much larger number of opponents. *Level 2 - Your team consists mainly of aerial characters, while the opposing army has mainly archers. In the Fire Emblem series (and in fact most video games in general) when an archer attacks an aerial unit, it delivers an incredible amount of damage. *Level 3 - The enemy consists of armored knights and thieves. The challenge here is that you have to rob all of the chests in the castle while also fending off the knights. *Level 4 - The last map had you controlling a small army against a force that grew every turn. As a Satellaview title, each map is time based, with each chapter lasting for an hour. So even when the boss is defeated, enemies will still spawn until the time limit runs out. Remake Thirteen years after the game was released, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems remade BS Fire Emblem as bonus mode in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~. Some of the dialogue has been changed since the original, and some characters like King Archanea no longer make an appearance. The biggest difference however is that the game is no longer time based, but objective based like the main games. All the characters who debuted in BS Fire Emblem like Dice and Robert, were added to the main story of Fire Emlblem: New Mystery of the Emblem. Category:Satellaview games Category:1997 video games Category:Fire Emblem games Category:Role-playing games Category:Intelligent Systems Category:Games published by Nintendo Category:Nintendo games Category:Tactical role-playing games